Tire-inflating device



Feb. 16,1926.

J. F. Ma DoNALD TIRE INFLATING DEVICE Filed July 30, 1924 INVENTOR d/Tfl/fiOonM/LQ BY M4 ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 16, 1926.

UNITED S ATE T PATENT. OFFICE.

TInE-InFLATrNe DEVICE. I

Application fiieii July so, 1924. Serial No. 729,166.:

To all whom it may, concern: 7 Be it known that 1, JOHN FRAN LIN Mao- DONALD" a citizen of Canada, and a resident of Hillsboro, in the'Province of New Brunswick and the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Inflating Devices, at

which the following isa specification This invention relatesto a device for in flating tires, and is especially, designed-for inflating tires of the balloon type. I

The object of the invention 1s"top rovide afdevice of this character and having the capacity mentioned and which lsadapt ed to be operated from theengine of the automobile or motor vehicle with which it isassociated. e l 1 A "further object is to provide a device of this character which does not necessitate any modification of the engine structure, the

inflater being associated with the spark plug opening of the cylinder head of the engine.

Other objects and advantages of the inventic-n resides in' the novel features of the construction,combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims,'re"lercne being had tothe accompanying drawings forming part ofthis specification, and in which: I

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section,

showing a portion of an engine having a device embodying the present inventlon as sociated therewith; f I

F igure 2 1s a plan viewof the device em bodying the present invention;

Figure tion for the sake of illustration;

Figure 4 is a view in horizontal section,

on line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a similar view on line 55 of Figure 1;and V c Figure 6 is' a'view in horizontal section, on line- 66 of Figure 3.

Reterring to the drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally the cylinder of an automobile engine. As usual the engine includes at least four cylinders but only one is shown in the drawing for the sake of simplicity in illustration. A piston 11 is operatively mounted in the cylinder'10 in the usual manner. In the cylinder head 12 the usual internally threaded spark plug opening '13 :isformed. I

3 is a fragmentary view thereof with parts broken away and shown in seci The present invention proposes the use of a specially constructed casing 15 having a reduced lower end 16 which is externally threaded and engaged with the threads of the spark plugopening 13. ,At its u'pper end the casing 15 is formed with flat wrench engaging surfaces 17. The casing 15 is designedto receive any conventionaltype of sparl'rfpl'ug' andin the embodiment shown the spark plug is'ldesignated generally at 13 and comprises an insulator '19 of porcelain or the like which carries an electrode 20, the'electrode 20 being c ooperable with a second-electrode 21 mountedon the casing casing 15 is. constructed of'metal', and, is

V 15, as shown in Figure 1., Of course the grounded on the engine in the usualmain ncr. The insulator '19 is formed with a shoulder 22 which engages a gasket 23,interposed between the shoulder 22 and a seat 241 provided in the casing 15. .Of course, the casing 15 is formed with an opening tore ceive the. spark. plug 18, the said opening being designated generally at 25;; The

s'park plug 18.'is held in position in'the cas- 1ng 15 by means of a retalning nut 26 threadedly engaged with the casing 15 and having its inner endengaging a gasket 27,

the latter being engaged with a shoulder 28 formed on the insulator 19.

The casingj15 is also provided witha passage 30 which communicates w1th the workingchamber 01 working space of the engine cylinder" and which leads-up toia cylindrical. valvechamber 31 provided in the'upper end of the casing 15,-and in, which a pressure operated piston valve 32 is slidably fitted." 'Communication' between the passage 30 and thevalve chamber 31is controlled by a' manually operable shut-off valve 33'which preferably takes the form of a tapered plug snugly fittedin a transverse opening 34L provided in 'the casing l5,'-and intersecting the'passage 30, Theplug 33 is held in frictionalQ engagement with the wall of the opening 34: by means of washer engaged with a shoulder 360i the casing 15 and connected withthe small end of the plug valve. 33 by means of a screw 37 the screw 37 extending loosely through an opening in the washer 35. A pi'n38 is formed on thewasher 35 and is snugly fitted in an opening provided therefor in the valve 33 to constrain the washer to rotate with the valve. A slight clearance is'provided between the small end of the valve and the At its large end the valve 33 is formed with a squared operating head 39 adapted to be engagedby a wrench when the valve 33 is to be turned. The valve 33 is held in open or closed position by virtue of its frictional engagement with the wall of the opening 34.

A plurality of inlet ports 40 are provided in the casing 15 and extend from the atmosphere into the chamber 31. An outlet port 41 is also formed in the casing 15 and extends into the valve chamber 31. Preferably the ports 40 and 41 communicate with the chamber at the same horizontal level but these ports are spaced from each other angularly. The ports 40 lead out through the side or" the casing but the port 41 leads up through the top of the casing and is adapted for connection with an air line leading to the tires to be inflated.

The piston valve 32 includes a head 42 and a skirt 43. In assembling the piston valve with the casing, the valve is introduced through an opening 44 provided in the top of the casing and leading directly into the chamber 31. After the piston valve has been fitted in the chamber 31, the opening 44 is closed by a plug 45 having a vent 46 therein. In order to constrain the valve 32 to rectilinear sliding movement in the chamber 31, a pin 47 is fixed to theskirt of the piston and is slidably fitted in a longitudinal groove 48 formed in the wall of the valve chamber 31. The skirt of the piston is provided with a plurality ot ports 49 designed to be registered with the inlet ports 40 of the casing 15 when the valve 32 is in its lowermost position in the chamber 31, the ports 49 bein located immediately below the head 42 or the piston valve. A single port 50 is also provided in the skirt of the piston adjacent its lower end and is designed to register with the port 41 of the casing when the piston valve is in its uppermost position in the chamber 31, as shown in Figure 3.

l/Vith this arrangement when the inflater is not in use, the valve 33 is closed and the engine operates in the usual manner. The piston valve 32 is inactive when the valve 33 is closed.

When it is desired to use the inflater, the spark plug 18 is disconnected from the ignition system of the engine and the cylinder with which the intlater is associated is idle in the operation of the engine but active to the end of inflating the tires as will presently appear. The valve 33 having been opened and the piston 11 being reciprocated in the cylinder 10, air will be drawn into the cylinder on the down stroke of the piston, since the cylinder communicates with the atmosphere through the passage 30, the port of the valve 33, and the ports 49 and 40 of the casing, the ports 49 and 40 being in registry as the valve 32 has been drawn down to the position shown in Figure 1. by the action of the suction induced by the downward movement of the piston 11. On the upstroke of the piston the pressure operated valve 32 is forced up to the position shown in Figure 3 in which position of the valve 32 the inlet ports 40 are closed by the imperiorate portions of the skirt 43 of the piston valve 32. The outlet port 41 is however in registry with the port 50 of the skirt of the piston and thus the air expelled from the cyliuder of the engine passes out through the port 41 and through the air line connected thereto to the tires.

The present invention is especially designed and adapted for use in inflating tires of the balloon type.

I claim:

1. In a tire inflater of the character described, in combination with an engine having a cylinder and a piston operating therein, a casing mounted on the cylinder, said casing having a passage communicating with the interior of the cylinder, means for controlling communication of said passage with said cylinder, said casing having a valve chamber communicating with the cylinder when said passage is open, said casing having an intake port leading from the atmosphere into the valve chamber, said casing also having an outlet port leading from said valve chamber, a pressure operated piston valve fitted in the valve chamber and having ports therein alternately cooperatable with the intake and outlet ports of the casing under the influence of the piston of the cylinder, cooperating means between the piston valve and the casing for constraining the piston valve to rectilinear movement, and a vented plug threaded into the casing and affording a stop for one end of said piston valve.

2. In a tire inflater of the character described, in combination with an engine having a cylinder and a piston operating therein, a casing mounted on the cylinder, said casing having a passage comunicating with the interior or" the cylinder and also having a valve chamber communicating with said passage, a manually operable valve controlling communication between the passage and the valve chamber, said casing having an inlet port leading from the atmosphere into the valve chamber and also having an outlet port leading from the valve chamber, and a pressure operated iiston valve operatively fitted in the valve chamber and having ports therein alternately and automatically cooperable with the intake and outlet ports of the casing under the influence of the piston of the cylinder.

JOHN FRANKLIN MACDONALD. 

